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Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has claimed the club will not sign a new striker in January.
This comes amid speculations linking the Gunners with a move for Brentford’s Ivan Toney.
In the summer, Arteta allowed Folarin Balogun to join Monaco, leaving just Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus as the senior strikers in his squad.
Nketiah and Jesus have managed just three Premier League goals so far this season. But Arteta insists he retains faith in the duo.
Ahead of Sunday’s summit meeting with Manchester City, Arteta was asked whether he needed another striker.
He said: “We believe in the players that we have first of all. Because we have the resources that we have secondly, and at the moment we feel we are covering that position.”
Toney is currently serving an eight-month ban for breaching betting regulations.
[DailyPost]
Former Manchester United striker, Dimitar Berbatov, has dropped his predictions of how matches would end at different grounds on the Match-Day eight of the 2023-2024 Premier League season.
Burnley will tackle Chelsea on Saturday in an away Premier League tie at Turf Moor, while Manchester United will face Brentford at Old Trafford.
Arsenal will host Premier League holders Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Providing his predictions, Berbatov was quoted by Metro UK as saying:
Luton Town 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur
Burnley 1-1 Chelsea
Fulham 2-1 Sheffield United
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Liverpool
Manchester United 1-0 Brentford
Everton 1-1 Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 0-1 Nottingham Forest
West Ham United 2-1 Newcastle United
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Aston Villa
Arsenal 2-2 Manchester City
[DailyPost]
Serie A Champions Napoli have condemned the sale and manufacturing of a Victor Osimhen doll, detaching themselves from the item.
Images of an Osimhen doll went viral on social media recently and the doll, which has the trademark hair and mask of the Nigerian striker, has been made out of the template of one of the most prominent dolls in Italy. It is, in fact, a new design of the Cicciobello Bomber, which is made by Giochi Preziosi.
It was reported in the media that the doll has been authorised by Napoli and Aurelio de Laurentiis and that it will be sold soon later this month.
But Napoli have released a statement, confirming that the Partenopei never authorised the sale and they condemned the reports which state otherwise. They have stated that the product is ‘unofficial’ and the club never authorised it from their end. The club have now taken actions to protect its interests.
Napoli announced that they will take legal action against the famous Italian toy store for an unlicensed.
“With reference to the news, which appeared on numerous online information sites, relating to the imminent marketing of a children’s game called “Cicciobello Bomber” – a doll that reproduces the features of the player Victor Osimhen, portrayed wearing a uniform clearly referable to the shirt from the Club’s first team – the SSCN specifies that this is an unofficial product, the creation of which has not been authorized in any way by the Club,” Napoli said in a statement.
“The Company has therefore taken steps to protect its interests in the appropriate places.” the statement read.
Osimhen was recently involved in a TikTok video row with Napoli.
The Nigeria international’s contract extension is currently in doubt and his relationship with the Serie A champions remains frosty.
He has scored five goals in nine appearances across all competitions for Napoli this season.
Jurgen Klopp wants Liverpool’s match at Tottenham to be replayed due to the VAR error that cost them the opening goal at the weekend.
Spurs went on to win the Premier League game 2-1.
The fallout from the VAR failure in Saturday’s defeat, in which officials wrongly disallowed Luis Diaz’s goal due to a misunderstanding over the on-field decision, is still being felt.
Referees body Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (PGMOL) released the audio conversation between the match officials after a request from Liverpool, but Klopp said that had made little difference to their thinking.
“The audio didn’t change it at all,” he told a press conference on Wednesday. “It is an obvious mistake. I think there should be solutions for that. I think the outcome should be a replay.
“The argument against that would be it opens the gates. It is unprecedented. It has not happened before.
“I’m used to wrong and difficult decisions, but something like this never happened and so that is why I think a replay is the right thing to do.”
Questioned over whether the club had asked or would formally ask the Premier League for a replay, Klopp added: “At this stage we are still going through the information we have.”
Liverpool also had Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota sent off as their unbeaten start to the season came to an end.
PGMOL released a statement admitting a “significant human error” had led to the wrong decision being made.
[Vanguard]
Inter Miami was inches away from a victory without Lionel Messi on Sunday.
David Ruiz’s right-footed shot in the 97th minute hit the top of the crossbar and bounced downward and away from the net in what could have been a goal that likely would have given Inter Miami the win and some much-needed help in the MLS playoff race.
Instead, Inter Miami’s postseason hopes remain fluid and uncertain – just like Messi’s playing status.
A header by Inter Miami’s Tomás Avilés tied the match three minutes into stoppage time, New York City FC’s Santiago Rodriguez scored in the 77th minute, and Inter Miami finished with a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at DRV PNK Stadium.
Messi sat pensively, wearing a pink shirt and a gold watch, behind the Inter Miami bench while missing his third straight game for the club, and fourth overall in September.
A lingering injury, the details murky and undisclosed, has kept Messi out of action and he’s considered day to day. Inter Miami’s next match is Wednesday night against Chicago Fire FC at Soldier Field.
Inter Miami coach Tata Martino tried to dismiss a social media report stating Messi might have a hamstring tear, and that his MLS season could be over.
Martino, via translator, said time will tell “if what I say is right, or what the report says is right.”
“He feels better and better,” Martino said of Messi.
Inter Miami has begun to receive criticism for Messi’s layoff, understandably so with fans paying for expensive game tickets, travel arrangements, and merchandise during this recent stretch.
[Leadership]
Napoli’s social media executive, Alessio Fortino, has stepped down from his role amid the ongoing saga over the club’s trolling of Nigerian football star Victor Osimhen, on TikTok.
Osimhen, the club and Serie A’s leading scorer with 26 goals last season as Napoli won their first Scudetto in 33 years, was mocked in a TikTok video last week for missing a penalty in their 0-0 draw with Bologna.
The offensive video drew the ire of football fans across the world and led to Osimhen removing all Napoli-related posts from his Instagram account and his agent Roberto Calenda threatening legal action.
The Nigerian government also waded into the matter, saying it would reach out to the government of Italy, Napoli and Osimhen over the issue.
There were two videos, the first one showing the 24-year-old Super Eagles striker appealing for a penalty, with sped-up, child-like audio captioned ‘Gimme penalty please’ before showing him firing the spot-kick wide.
A second video from the club’s account compared Osimhen to a ‘coconut’ — widely viewed as a racial slur.
Although Osimhen has played in two matches since then and scored in both, and Napoli have claimed they meant no harm, Fortino has apparently paid with his job for the ill-advised action.
In a post via Instagram, Fortino said: “Today, after 805 days, my professional adventure with SSC Naples ends. For many this job would be comparable to a dream, for me it was simple daily reality: a reality built on commitment and fueled by the constant desire to learn and play.
“I cannot help but express my deepest gratitude to all the colleagues, collaborators, partners and supporters I’ve met along this long journey for making this experience so special.
“Leaving the company with a baggage of great memories and an excitement for the new adventures that lie ahead. Thanks again for everything and see you soon! Alessio.”
According to Italian outlet Il Corriere dello Sport, Osimhen is believed to have received a private apology from Napoli directors on Wednesday for the club’s behavior on social media.
[DailyTrust]
Arsenal eased to a 4-0 victory in the sun away at Bournemouth as Mikel Arteta’s side remain unbeaten and oozed class throughout.
Bukayo Saka headed home and Martin Odegaard made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the first half, then Kai Havertz also converted a spot kick and Ben White scored late on as the Gunners won at a canter and it could have been seven or eight in their favor.
Arteta’s Arsenal have now picked up 17 points from a possible 21 to start the season as they’ve won five of their seven games.ARSENAL eased to a 4-0 victory in the sun away at Bournemouth as Mikel Arteta’s side remain unbeaten and oozed class throughout.
Bukayo Saka headed home and Martin Odegaard made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the first half, then Kai Havertz also converted a spot kick and Ben White scored late on as the Gunners won at a canter and it could have been seven or eight in their favor.
Arteta’s Arsenal have now picked up 17 points from a possible 21 to start the season as they’ve won five of their seven games.
[Nation]
NIGERIA’S sports industry stakeholders have provided insights into why the country lost its bid to hold the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Two North African countries, Algeria and Morocco, including Zambia, vied to host the tournament against a joint bid from Nigeria and Benin.
But Morocco eventually won the bid.
The North African side will host Africa’s flagship event for the second time, 35 years after the country hosted the competition in 1988.
Meanwhile, the rights for the 2027 edition were handed to a co-bid from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The joint East African bid returns the tournament to the region for the first time since 1976.
They beat Botswana, Egypt and Senegal in a vote of the CAF executive committee.
Stakeholders’ reactions to Nigeria’s failed bid
A sports administrator, Peter Iweze, recalled how he and ex-international Segun Odegbami sought a joint bid for the country with South Africa ahead of the 2010 World Cup, saying they started the bid early.
He described Nigeria’s bid for the 2025 AFCON as impromptu, adding that early preparation would have conferred some advantages on the nation over its peers.
“We are not ready to do anything like that. Is that our priority? You don’t bid for events like that; you start early. When we bid for the World Cup for the West African joint bid, Odegbami and I went to the whole of West Africa. We took time for the World Cup in 2010; we started in 2002,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria is suffering from an economic downturn, and its failure to secure the hosting rights would help salvage its economy.
“So it is good savings for us. Right now, Nigerians are suffering. They don’t want unnecessary expenditure of funds. I am not surprised that we lost,” he said.
Also, a veteran sports journalist, Maxwell Kumoye, explained that hosting AFCON tournaments demands quality sporting infrastructures like good stadiums, airports and hotels.
He argued that the country could not boast of these.
“At the moment, look at the state of our facilities. What facilities were they putting forward to host AFCON besides UYO, Abuja, Stephen Keshi and Samuel Ogbemudia Stadiums?
“The stadiums in Lagos are nothing to write home about. They are not ready for major international events like AFCON. Yes, we may have hotels and airports, but our sporting facilities are below the mark,” he said.
He faulted the country’s bid, saying it was dead on arrival.
“We were thoroughly disgraced in the sense that we hurriedly put up that bid and indicated that it was dead on arrival from the start to the end.
“What did we do right? Certainly, we did not do anything right. Perhaps the board felt, ‘let’s put this together to tell the world we are doing something.’ For me, that bid had no substance. What was in that bid was that we were seeking the help of the Benin Republic to bid for our AFCON.
“Those doing this were not doing it for the country’s sake. They were doing it for their own to be relevant in the international scene that Nigeria is putting up a bid,” he added.
[ICIR]
In what was dubbed the first Undisputed versus Undisputed world championship fight in the modern four-belt era, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez beat Jermel Charlo on points to defend his undisputed super-middleweight title Saturday night.
Alvarez used constant pressure to cut off the ring toward a seventh-round knockdown and dominant unanimous decision over Jermell Charlo to successfully retain his undisputed super middleweight crown.
Canelo, 33, secured a unanimous 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109 win over the American to defend his WBO, WBC, WBA and IBF belts at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“I’m the best. Who’s better? Nobody can beat this Canelo,” he said.
Charlo was undisputed light-middleweight champion until he was stripped of his WBO belt when the fight started.
He suffered only the second knockdown and second defeat of his 38-fight career after stepping up in weight.
“I worked all the fight to go in the body,” said Canelo, who dropped Charlo with an overhand right.
“Then I changed the punch and that’s what happened. We worked for that.
“We know he’s a great fighter. He knows how to move in the ring and we worked that in the gym for three months.
“Three months in the mountains without my family, without everything.
“But I still love boxing. Boxing made me the person I am today. Boxing is my life,” Charlo stated.
[Leadership]
Former Manchester United captain, Gary Neville has called on the Premier League to introduce the semi-automated offside.
This follows a controversial incident in Tottenham Hotspurs’ 2-1 win over Liverpool on Saturday evening.
The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have apologized to Liverpool, admitting that Luis Diaz’s goal against Tottenham Hotspur should have stood.
Diaz broke in behind the Spurs defence before firing past Guglielmo Vicario into the bottom corner.
However the linesman had his flag up for offside. And although VAR intervened, the TV cameras didn’t show the offside lines, with the Colombian seemingly onside.
Neville tweeted: “Goal-line Technology and Offside have been the two pillars of accuracy with VAR.
“I’ve lost some confidence in the last month on offsides and this today erodes it further. Bring in the automated system straight away.”
When a semi-automated system is used, there is no need to draw or activate lines.
Instead, a virtual offside line is generated automatically in addition to accurately identifying skeleton points — including head, toes, upper arm and knees — on multiple players simultaneously.
[DailyPost]
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What many people do not know about me is my relationship with the health sector.
Almost 20 years ago, I was invited to consult for the Nigerian Heart Foundation, NHF, on Sports (Golf specifically). That relationship eventually took me to Jomo Kenyatta University as part of a team of medical scholars researching ‘Active Transport’ in some African countries, including Nigeria. By the way, Active Transport is the quantum of physical activity a person does on a daily basis.
After that, the NHF facilitated my invitation as a resource person to the 13th World Public Health Congress in Ethiopia some years later, where I presented a paper on the effect of intensive sports on young children in my specialist sports ‘laboratory’ in Wasimi, Ogun State, an institution for boys and girls interested in combining their passion for sport with a sound education. The sports academy continues to flourish 17 years after, its products shining like a million stars wherever they perch. Many of them have enjoyed scholarships to several universities in the United States; a few have graduated and are now playing professional football in some European countries; some are in an Indian IT University gaining invaluable education and still playing their football; one played professional tennis in Europe; and another is, probably, the tallest basketball player in the world at the moment, plying his trade in Dubai.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has warned against the maltreatment of Nigerians abroad.
Tuggar also said Nigerian sportsmen and women in the Diaspora must be treated with dignity.
The minister stated this on Friday against the background of a viral video from Napoli’s TikTok account trolling Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, for missing a penalty kick in a match against Bologna.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Alkasim Abdulkadir, the minister said the government considered the life and dignity of every Nigerian in the Diaspora sacrosanct and deserving of respect and dignity in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
He said, “When we go about our duties, we should always remember Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
“They are endowed with reason and conscience, and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
The minister added, “Napoli did not act in the spirit of brotherhood by mocking of her star player, Victor Osimhen, who was instrumental to the team winning the Serie A championship last season.”
Abdulkadir noted that the Federal Government and Nigeria’s embassies would continue to monitor happenings not only in Napoli, but around the world on how her sportsmen and women and all other citizens in the Diaspora were being treated, and would waste no time in seeking redress of such maltreatments.
British heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Ukrainian champion Oleksandr Usyk have officially signed a contract that will see them fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fight was officially confirmed today, September 29, 2023, and is scheduled to take place on December 23 or be moved to early next year.
The 36-year-old Usyk is the WBA, WBO, and IBF champion, while the 35-year-old Fury is the reigning WBC champion.
Hence, the winner of the bout in Saudi Arabia will be the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999 to defend the WBA, WBC, and IBF championships, there hasn’t been an undisputed heavyweight bout in this manner.
Even though the fight has been signed and sealed, Fury must emerge unscathed in the fight against Francis Ngannou in a non-title match on October 28 in Riyadh.
Usyk, who has won all 21 of his professional fights, recently defeated Daniel Dubois in August to defend his belts.
As for Fury, the British boxer has won 33 of his 34 fights since turning professional in 2008, while only drawing once.
Queensbury promoter Frank Warren who is in charge of Fury’s brand, said, “Delighted to finally get this fight signed. This is the biggest fight that could be made in our sport.”
“The heavyweights always spark the imagination of the fans, and I have no doubt this will be the biggest boxing event of the century.”
TikTok Post Clarification: Napoli Expresses Regret Over Misunderstanding Regarding Club ‘Treasure’ Osimhen
AdminNapoli say the club’s now-deleted social media post was not intended to mock Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen.
The TikTok post, which was subsequently deleted, showed Osimhen failing to score his spot-kick in the Serie A match with a high-pitched voice saying “gimme penalty please,” sparking a furious reaction from Roberto Calenda. Calenda, Osimhen’s agent had threatened legal action against Napoli after the video was published.
“(It is) A serious fact that causes very serious damage to the player and adds to the treatment that the boy is suffering in the last period between media trials and fake news,” he tweeted. “We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor.”
But Napoli say the club did not intend any harm.
“Calcio Napoli, wishing to avoid any exploitation of the issue, point out that we never wanted to offend or mock Victor Osimhen, who is a treasure of this club,” a Thursday statement read.
“As proof of that, during the summer training retreat, the Club firmly rebuffed every offer that was received for the striker’s transfer abroad.
“Social media, in particular, TikTok, has always used an expressive form of language with a light heart and creativity, without wanting to, as in the case with Osimhen as a protagonist, have any intention of insult or derision.
“In any case, if Victor perceived any offence towards him, this was not what the club intended”.
‘Employing Diplomatic Avenues’
In the wake of the development, Osimhen who led the club to their first Scuddeto in three decades, deleted all Napoli-related posts on his Instagram account.
In the summer, the Nigerian who became an icon in Naples for his exploits, was a target for Manchester United and other clubs. But the Italian side turned down moves for the striker.
On Thursday, the Minister of Sports Development John Enoh expressed reservations over the matter.
“My office is trying to reach Victor Osimhen directly as well to understand first-hand the issues. We are committed to establishing the facts of the matter,” he wrote on his X account.
“Meanwhile, I am in touch with the Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, and the Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Italy, Ambassador Mfawa Abam.
“Together, we are employing diplomatic avenues with Italy for a more proper approach to looking into the matter as it is.”